


Belated route A

by MilayaMilenZeal



Series: MIA Brother [3]
Category: Spectrobes
Genre: Drama, F/M, Minimal spoiler, Original Character Death(s), Post-Game(s), Two-way junction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 10:26:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9319565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilayaMilenZeal/pseuds/MilayaMilenZeal
Summary: Upon receiving a message from his brother, who'd been MIA for 12 years, Rallen is more than excited to travel to Ziba and pick him up. But when he and Jeena arrive, things take a drastic turn...





	1. Making the errand

**Author's Note:**

> Before reading this, be sure to go read the prologue to get a better understanding of where this is going.

“LIZ!! LIZ WAKE UP!!” Rallen cried out as he pounded on the door to Liz’s dorm room. He couldn’t care if he woke up anyone else; it was more important to him to get the news about Rex to Liz. Who cared if everyone else heard him?

Rallen was about to shout and pound again, when the door disappeared from beneath his fist an inch before it could connect with the solid material. And in the opened doorway stood a very sleepy, and rather annoyed, Liz Marks. Her white-blonde hair looked a little messy, though not all that much, even if the longer locks hanging past her face were slightly sticking to the corner of her mouth. She had her traditional eye patch covering her eye, but it looked a little crooked, possibly because of her trying to fix it while she was half asleep, and her only usable eye was watching him from behind a half-shut eyelid as she straightened her robe briefly.

“…Rallen, it’s 3:30 in the morning… can’t it wait just a few hours?” Liz mumbled as she reached up to rub the dust from her eye.

“Sorry Liz but no it can’t!” Rallen said in one breath, letting himself into the room before she could say no.

Liz only sighed at Rallen’s usual impulsive behavior and shut the door behind him, walking after Rallen further into the room. “Alright… I’ll bite… what’s got you so excited?”

Rallen couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he held out his portable messenger to her, having already selected the last message he received that day. “Read this!”

“…Rallen, you woke me up just to proofread a message to Rex?”

“Just read it, Liz! Please!”

Liz gave Rallen a dry look, which was rather impressive with only one eye, before she sighed and rubbed her temple. “Fine, fine… I’ll read it… but I swear if it’s not important…”

“It is, I swear!”

The Commander didn’t seem to be the least bit convinced by his claim, however, even as she took over the handheld and started reading silently.

Rallen watched as her annoyed expression turned into one of confusion, then to surprise, then to shock, before finally becoming an expression that was oddly blank. He watched the motion of her eye carefully and realized that she was rereading the message, again and again, as though she were afraid that what she read was, somehow, a dream. Not that he blamed her; he’d had the same kind of reaction when he first read it, after all.

“…Rallen.”

“Yeah…?”

“Could you get me a chair, please?”

Rallen didn’t question it, having a feeling what she wanted it for, and ran to collect a chair from the lounge, then ran back and set it down behind Liz just in time before her legs could no longer support her body’s weight. She let herself drop down onto the chair, one of her hands holding her head, fingers placed upon her temple. He wanted to say something, but he wasn’t too sure what to say at this point. With Liz’s expression still being relatively blank, it was difficult to say what she was thinking. That was probably something she had learned when becoming a Commander; don’t let your emotions show too much. Show enough, just not too much.

“…Rallen.”

“Yeah?”

“…this isn’t your idea of a joke… is it?”

“…would this be something I’d joke about?”

“…I guess not…”

For several long moments, the dorm room was silent, and neither of the two dared to move, nor to break the silence, as though that would make the entire thing disappear like a midnight dream. Rallen remained standing behind Liz, and because of this, it was a little hard to gauge her exact thoughts, but even if he was looking at her face, he probably wouldn’t be able to tell much. Despite that Liz had become almost like an older sister to Rallen (and maybe a little bit of a mother after his mom died) over the years, he still had difficulty with figuring out what the woman was thinking of.

“…he’s… alive…”

When he heard those words being spoken, Rallen felt his mouth quirk up in a smile, and when he leaned over, he could see that Liz was trying (and failing) to keep her own smile (and tears) in check.

“Yeah… and the best news about that is…” Rallen started, which caused Liz to stop fighting against the smile that sought to play along her face. “He’s coming home.”

Liz was silent for a long moment, her smile seeming almost as relieved as his own had been only a few minutes ago. However, just then, she slowly closed the portable messenger, and held it up to Rallen without a word said. The orange-haired NPP officer blinked, but he took it anyway – and the second he took it back from her, Liz’s hand clenched into a fist and her face twisted into a furious snarl.

“He better be!!” she let out, immediately leaping to her feet and almost knocking the chair over and startling Rallen into backing away. “After all he’s put us through, he _better_ be coming straight home or he’s going to have more than my fist to his jaw to look forward to when I see him again!! If he thinks he’s gonna get off easy just by saying ‘sorry’ he’s got another think coming!! Just saying ‘sorry’ isn’t enough in this situation!! When I see him again he is SO going to pay for making us worry about his sorry hide and THEN he’ll have something to be ‘sorry’ about!!”

If Rallen hadn’t noticed how, during her rant, Liz’s tears had begun rolling down her cheek freely from her only visible eye, he might’ve actually flinched back. Having lived with Liz for almost 9 years already, Rallen was used to Liz’s ‘tantrums’ every so often, but he knew right away that this tantrum was different from her usual furious fits; it was a façade to hide what she was really feeling at that specific time. An act to appear strong and to not let him down.

Quietly, Rallen set aside the portable on the table and walked over. Before she could start her rant anew, Rallen reached out and pulled the slightly taller woman into a hug, feeling her tense up in surprise. However, he didn’t even seem to care about that as he rested his forehead on her shoulder and shut his eyes. Like that, they stayed for a while, before Liz seemed to slump in his grasp, but he could feel her body start to shake subtly.

“That… idiot… that good for nothing… stupid… _idiot_ …” Liz hissed out, before her legs gave out and she dropped to the ground, Rallen dropping down with her immediately, still holding her in a hug from behind. “Damn him… stupid… idiot…”

Rallen didn’t say anything for a while, but he did smile quietly, knowing exactly what she meant to say with those words. After a moment of waiting, he murmured: “But… you missed him… right?”

“…you kidding me? Of course I… I…” Liz choked out through her barely concealed sobs as she held onto his arm with one hand.

“It’s… okay…” Rallen managed to get out, feeling his own tears forming in his own eyes again as the whole situation dawned on him fully. “I… I missed him, too…”

“I didn’t… dammit…” Liz grumbled out, wriggling a bit in Rallen’s hold to turn around and pull the young man into a hug, keeping her eye shut tight, as though it would prevent her tears from falling.

It didn’t, of course, but neither said anything about the tears they were both shedding, not ready to admit just how much they had truly missed Rex. They merely sat there upon the ground, clinging to each other like lifelines, tears of relief escaping their tightly shut eyes and small, equally relieved and contented smiles on their faces.

“Tell your brother… if he pulls that again… I’m going to skin him alive…”

“Hahah… I’ll tell him.”

“You better… ‘coz I’m not going to be held responsible if it happens.”

“Heheh…”

 

Jeena had no idea what to expect when Commander Marks sent her a message at 6 in the morning to come by her office, when she and Rallen were supposed to be officially on leave, but she figured that something very urgent must’ve come up. After all, Commander  So, despite that she was still dead tired, she walked down the halls, Komainu hurrying after her as she went, heading toward Liz’s office.

After Rallen had told her about Rex two years ago, he had also ‘properly’ introduced her to Liz, and the Commander had actually given Jeena permission to use the woman’s first name when they were in private. And while Liz was known to be a little stern at times, she had always been a kind person to the rookies. In fact, she was also the person who had partnered up her and Rallen.

Let alone, she seemed, to Jeena, like the kind of person who would be able to keep Rallen in line with little to no trouble. Which was probably why she had been partnered up with his brother, if he had been anything like Rallen during his career.

Upon arriving at the room, Jeena paused for a moment to take a deep breath, before she knocked politely. “Commander Marks, you wished to speak to me?”

“Door’s open, Jeena. Come on in,” Liz called out calmly.

As she stepped into the room, Jeena was a bit surprised – just a little, though – when she spotted Rallen already sitting in one of the chairs facing Liz’s desk… and he seemed strangely happy about something. He was sitting with his hands behind his head, one leg slung over the other, already in full uniform. When Jeena walked in, he looked up and grinned at her, giving her a small wave as she walked over to sit in the other seat.

“So… what’s the problem, Commander?” Jeena asked as Komainu jumped up into Rallen’s lap, barking up to the other officer for attention, which was gladly provided.

“Jeen, I thought I said you could call me Liz quite a few times already,” Liz chuckled out, a small smirk playing on her face. Now that she actually had a good look at Liz, though, she realized that she, too, seemed almost… well, not exactly happy, but she was definitely in a better than normal mood.

“Oh, I’m sorry… but I thought… I thought something urgent came up and…”

“Hey, chill out, Jeen,” Rallen laughed out, scratching Komainu under his chin. “We just need to do a quick errand for Liz, that’s all. Nothing really serious.”

“An errand? What kind of errand, if I may ask?” Jeena asked wearily, unsure if she liked where this was going.

“No need to be so formal, Jeena.” Liz allowed a chuckle. “I just need you two to pick someone up from Ziba. And in the event that he hasn’t made it there, to fetch him on Himuro.”

“If I may, why Himuro? What would he have to do there?” Jeena asked, now thoroughly confused.

However, Liz merely smirked. “Rallen, why don’t you tell her who you’re picking up?”

Jeena quirked an eyebrow ad looked over to her partner strangely. Said partner, however, turned to her with a big grin.

“We’re gonna pick up Rex!”

At that name, Jeena’s eyes widened in surprise and her jaw dropped slightly. However, she quickly shook off her surprise and felt a smile pulling on her lips that was trying to turn into a grin of its own as she realized just _why_ the two of them had seemed so… happy. They had every reason to be, after all, if what Rallen said was true.

“Your brother…? You… figured out where he went?” she asked finally, still unable to keep her smile off her face.

“Apparently, he’s been out of the Nanairo system all this time with no way back. He only recently managed to return, possibly through one of the Portal Points, and this put him on the edge of Nanairo,” Liz explained. “He’ll be trying to reach Ziba with his ship, but he might end up on Himuro instead. And if he does…”

“He’ll need a ride. I get it.”

Liz nodded. “This is technically not an official mission. It’s more of a personal request. Plus, Rallen would end up going there anyway even if I didn’t say so,” she added with a smirk, causing Rallen to cry out “Hey!!” and earning a few giggles from Jeena. “I’ll let Grant know you’re off the planet for a while, just in case. Now, do you two have any questions?”

“Nope!” Rallen quipped with a grin.

“None at all,” Jeena confirmed with a nod.

“Alright. Then I’ll see you when you get back. You’re dismissed.”

Both Officers nodded, looking at each other with similar smiles before getting up and heading out of the Commander’s office. As they headed out however, neither of the two noticed the look on Liz’s face as the door shut behind them.

“……”

Slowly, Liz turned to the window behind her and her expression became… almost worried.

She stood from her seat and walked over to the window, absently staring outside, her expression unchanging. After a moment, though, she reached out and placed one hand on the glass and found her gaze drawn more to her own reflection than what was seen outside.

“…Why do I feel like this is not going to end the way we want it to?” she whispered softly, lowering her head and resting her forehead to the window. “Rex… don’t do anything stupid, you dolt… just wait wherever you are and let Rallen pick you up… Don’t you _dare_ leaving us again before seeing either of us…”


	2. Waiting for You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rallen and Jeena travel to Ziba, and there... they wait.

By 6:30, Rallen peeled their cruiser out of the hangar and they were en route to Ziba. With their cruiser’s new engine, they weren’t expecting the trip to last very long, but it was long enough for them to have a little time to themselves to think.

Rallen appeared a little lost in thought, though he kept them on course just fine, and Jeena was equally focused on her own thoughts. Hers mostly revolved around what they were going to do once they met up with Rex. She also wondered what Rallen would do when it came to that, though she could hazard a guess, of course.

“…Hey, Rallen?”

“Hm?”

“When you see your brother again, what are you going to say to him?”

At the question, Rallen actually blinked in slight surprise, and it took him a few moments before he actually responded.

“Well… honestly, I’m not sure…” Rallen admitted. “I mean, I’m happy he’s back and all… but… he _did_ keep us waiting for a while.”

Jeena nodded in understanding. “So… you wanna punch him for that?”

“Tempting… but I think Liz is gonna want dibs on that one.”

Jeena allowed a giggle at those words. “That’s her way of keeping your brother in line, I guess.”

“Kinda,” Rallen chuckled out. “Then again, Rex intentionally asks for it half the time by calling her ‘Lizzy’. She hates that nickname.”

“Then why does he call her that?”

“To get a response out of her, really. Liz wasn’t really… well, an open kind of person, I suppose you could say.”

Jeena nodded in understanding. While Liz wasn’t necessarily a bad person, she didn’t really strike Jeena as the type of person who laughed an awful lot, though of course, the same could be said for Grant, so that could be a Commander thing. Though if what Rallen said was true, then Liz was probably the way she was because she had always been like that.

‘Maybe Rex coming back will make her smile more often…’ Jeena wondered absently.

“…what was wrong with her, though?” Rallen whispered suddenly under his breath, making Jeena look over curiously.

“Rallen?” she called out.

However, the other NPP Officer shook his head. “Nothing. I just thought… no. No never mind. Was probably nothing…”

“…Okay, if you say so,” Jeena mumbled, sighing softly as she realized that Rallen wasn’t going to tell her. She made a mental note to question him about it later, though.

If Rallen was aware of her being suspicious of his earlier words, he didn’t show it. He was a little too preoccupied with going over the conversation with Liz again after Jeena had come in. Despite the Commander’s almost joking attitude (a rarity in and of itself), he couldn’t help but feel like that, too, had been a façade of some kind. Something about her behavior had just been… off.

Or maybe that was just his nerves seeing things that weren’t really there.

Mentally agreeing to that thought, Rallen focused back on the path ahead of them. He wanted to get to Ziba ASAP before his negative thinking won out over his usual positive thinking.

He didn’t want to think that… just maybe…

Rallen mentally smacked himself in the head before the thought could finish, forcing his mind away from _those_ thoughts.

‘Wait for us, Rex…  We’re coming to pick you up, so just stay put for a little longer!’

 

Before long, they made it to Ziba, but when they did, they remembered something that they should have remembered from the start; Ziba was split into two, meaning that there were two spaceports from where shuttles left for Kollin. Which also meant they would have to either split up their search, or have one of the ports contact the other and request for any shuttles for Kollin to hold off their launch until they could find Rex.

“So he doesn’t know we’re coming to pick him up?” Jeena asked as they circled the planet.

“No… I actually wanted to surprise him, and Liz thought it was a good idea, so…” Rallen offered lamely, rubbing the back of his neck.

Jeena sighed softly, rolling her eyes. Before they could decide on their course of action, though, they received a call from HQ. The pair of Officers exchanged a glance before Jeena put the connection through, both of them realizing that it was either Grant, or Liz.

And as it turned out, it was the latter.

“Hey, Liz. ‘Sup?” Rallen asked casually.

“ _Nothing much, Rallen. Are you two near Ziba, yet?_ ”

“We just came in range, actually,” Jeena said with a nod. “We’re just debating on where to land, considering…”

“ _I thought as much. I managed to convince the officials at the spaceports to hold off the ships to Kollin for a while, and they’ll let me know if someone matching your brother’s description shows up at the register._ ”

“Cool! That’ll save us some work! Thanks, Liz!” said the orange-haired man with a smile.

“ _Just get your brother home safely…_ ” Liz said, but her only visible seemed to darken with… something

“…? You okay, Liz?” Rallen asked, a little worried.

“ _…Yeah. I’m fine. I just… have something important on my mind, that’s all. In any event, I’ll let you know if and where he shows up. Marks out._ ”

And then the connection was cut.

Rallen blinked, before he frowned. “Huh… must be really big if she says it like that.”

“Like what?” Jeena asked, not understanding what Rallen was talking about.

“She said “Marks out’, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“She only uses that when it’s _really_ serious. Otherwise she’d just say what Rex usually says when signing off.”

Jeena gave a quiet ‘aaahh’ as she nodded. “I see… well, it might be something that came up after we left.”

“Yeah, maybe. Well! Anywho! Let’s mosey!!”

 

When they landed on Ziba, the place was as busy as ever, and their first step after docking their cruiser was to visit the spaceport’s CEO to ask aout anyone matching Rex’s description had recently come in. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a dead end, at least for the moment, so the pair of NPP Officers opted to wait outside for Rex.

After almost an hour of waiting, Jeena finally broke the silence.

“Hey, Rallen, you said your brother was your only family besides your mother, right?”

“Hm? Yeah, he was. Why?” Rallen asked curiously, leaning back on his arms casually.

“Well, I was wondering… you don’t have to answer, by the way, if you don’t want to, but what about your father? What happened to him?”

Rallen blinked, twice, before he looked up to the skies, furrowing his brows in thought. “…You know what? I don’t know. I don’t actually remember him, and Rex and Mom never really spoke much about him.”

“You never asked?”

“Oh I asked, but I didn’t get an answer. Mom… well, Mom would start to cry if I asked, and Rex tried to avoid or change the subject every time. So… after a while I just… stopped asking.”

Jeena watched him for a moment longer, before she leaned forward with her arms on her knees. “I see… you think he might be dead?”

“Maybe…” Rallen murmured, moving forward as well, resting his elbows on his knees and letting his hands dangle. “Actually… Rex noticed that I’d stopped asking not long after and he told me… ‘once you’re a full-fledged NPP officer, I’ll tell you all you want about Dad’.”

“…I guess you never found out, huh?”

“…No. But, quite honestly, I don’t really care much anymore.”

That caught Jeena’s attention immediately and she leaned forward to look at Rallen’s face, but Rallen wasn’t looking at her.

“…After he said that to me, I got to thinking… I don’t know anything about my dad, but, in all honesty, I guess I considered Rex to be a bit like a father. Sure, he was my brother, and I knew that, but… I dunno, it could be the age difference between us, but I always felt like Rex could just as well have been my dad. He was always rather… protective, but he also knew when to back up enough to let me do whatever I could by myself.” Rallen brought his hands together briefly and gave a small sigh. “Sometimes… I’d sit in my room and say to myself… ‘I don’t need a dad. As long as I have Rex, I’ll be fine’.”

“…Rallen…” Jeena frowned sadly. She had never really lost someone before, and while the aftermath of their adventure in Kaio came close, it was nowhere near what Rallen must’ve gone through when his brother disappeared. Let alone after his mother also passed away three years later. “…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Ah, ‘s okay, Jeena,” Rallen said with a small grin as he pushed up. “You know me; I’m not going to sit around and mope about what I’ve lost! Besides, Rex is coming home soon, so I don’t got the time to be sad!”

Jeena blinked, but then she smiled…

**_BEEP_ **

Rallen almost jumped in surprise when his gauntlet beeped loudly, before he blinked in surprise. “That was…?!” he choked out, reaching under his gauntlet and pulling out the portable he carried with him under it. “Rex,” he mumbled, quickly flicking it open, even as Jeena moved over quickly to watch over his shoulder.

What they read, however, made their blood freeze.

 

**_Subject: <None>_ **

_Meido_

 

And that was it.

The two Officers stared at the single word for a few moments longer, before they looked at each other slowly. And then, as though thinking as one, they leaped from their seat and dashed back toward the hangar as fast as they could.

Panic was gripping at Rallen’s heart as they rushed into their cruiser again. ‘Why one word? Don’t tell me… Don’t do this to us, Rex… please!!’


	3. From the Darkened Planet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rallen and Jeena rush to Meido to find Rex... where the reunion is bittersweet.

The first time they had traveled to Meido had been, needless to say, nerve wrecking on both their accounts. Neither of the two had been that willing to return there again, though they were well aware they had no real choice in the matter. It was dark, cold, and foreboding, as the sun’s rays were unable to reach it properly, turning the place into a barren wasteland where no being had a chance of survival. How the place had oxygen at all, no one was certain, but in a way, it was good it did. But that still didn’t make the place any more attractive to visit.

At this point in time, however, Rallen and Jeena barely thought twice about heading there. They had an actual reason to go there now, after all;

To pick Rex up and get him home.

 

The second the ship touched down, both Rallen and Jeena leaped back to their feet and were out the cruiser in the next instant, though Jeena took a moment more to get Komainu out from the incubator. Jeena had never seen Rallen fly their cruiser as fast as he had just a moment ago. Not even when they were facing off against an army of Krawl had Rallen ever forced their cruiser to go so fast. Of course, she hadn’t mentioned it, since she knew fully well _why_ he’d gone so fast in the first place.

Once he had dashed a short distance, he stopped and brought his hands up to create a makeshift megaphone and shouted out: “REEEEEEX!!”

They waited for a moment, but all they picked up was the slight echo of Rallen’s own shout. And Rallen cursed, rather venomously at that, but for once, Jeena didn’t say anything about it.

“Dammit! Where… where is he?!” he hissed out under his breath, clenching his fists tightly as he tried very hard to keep himself from dashing off. Last thing they needed was to split up at this point.

“I don’t know… let’s go look for him.”

“Yeah…”

Rallen took a few deep breaths, trying hard to calm himself down, before they began to walk slowly.

 

It wasn’t long before they discovered a long, deep trench across the ground, leading to a massive pit that Rallen only vaguely remembered from two years ago. It was a place he had avoided during his first trip there in favor of actually finding the leader of the Krawl. As he walked over slowly and looked down, he had to squint in order to see anything down below them, and even then, what he saw was limited; it was just that dark.

“This can’t be good…” Rallen murmured.

“We have to find a way down there… if this trench belongs to what I think it does…”

“I know…” Rallen mumbled, even if he really wished it wasn’t true.

‘Please… Rex, don’t… don’t die on us… you just got back so… please… don’t do this to us!”

As Rallen and Jeena looked around for a safe way down the pit, though, Komainu turned to the side with a curious sound, before he barked and bounded off.

“Komainu!!” Jeena cried out when she realized that the child Spectrobe had run off – again – making Rallen look up.

“Oh not again! Komainu! Get back here!!” Rallen cried out as the pair hurried after the tiny Spectrobe.

Komainu, however, didn’t listen, and instead ran on ahead of them, before he hopped over a rock and into a cave that had been hidden partially in shadows.

“Huh? Is that a…?” Rallen queried, moving over and peeking into the cave.

“Looks like some sort of cave… do you think?”

“One way to find out, right?”

After exchanging a nod with each other, the pair climbed over the rock Komainu had cleared earlier, stepping into the cave slowly, though they were forced to walk sideways because of the narrow entrance. As they went, Jeena produced a small orb of light that served as a flashlight, allowing them to see where they were going.

“Kinda cramped… how did he get through here?” Rallen grumbled.

Just as Jeena got ready to answer, Komainu gave a bark from a little further down the cave, making the two Officers jump at the sound (since it echoed around and sounded a lot louder than it should), before they hurried along.

As they closed in on the source of the bark, though…

“…oh, hey little one,” said a man’s voice, which was followed by a happy sound from Komainu as he was (presumably) being petted by the owner of the voice. “Where did you come from?”

Rallen’s eyes widened in surprise when the voice registered in his mind and he immediately increased his pace, almost leaving Jeena behind.

“R-Rallen!” she called out, though her voice was barely audible as Rallen came out in a wider portion of the cave and shouted out: “REX!!”

The shout caused the crouching figure to blink in surprise, before the man looked up, a single orange-golden eye gazing up to Rallen, the other hidden behind long, bright orange colored bangs.

“…wha… Ra… Rallen?” the man got out, rising to his feet.

Rallen stood for a moment, panting for breath slightly from rushing in like that, but slowly, his mouth quirked up in a grin as tears threatened to roll down from his eyes. And, just as Jeena made it into the cave, Rallen shouted out: “REX!!” and was halfway the cave floor and flying into the other man’s (surprised) arms.

“Oof! …how did… when…?” Rex managed to get out, even as he brought up his arms, a bit awkwardly, almost, to return the hug. “When… when did you… no wait… how… how did you…?”

“We… we came this way the moment we got your message, you… you dolt!” Rallen chuckled out, still refusing to let go of the taller man.

“…you…” Rex started to say, blinking slightly, before a small smile spread over his face. “Did you just call me ‘dolt’? How long have you been hanging out with Liz to pick up on _that?_ ”

“N-nine years, almost,” Rallen managed to get out, still struggling against his tears, even if it was impossible to keep the grin off his face.

Jeena merely watched the two men with a small, relieved smile of her own, taking a moment to look the taller man over. And she immediately realized there was no way for her to mistake Rex for anything other than Rallen’s brother.

He was roughly a foot and a half taller than Rallen, but his hair was the same deep orange, though it was longer than Jeena recalled seeing on Rallen’s photo’s, as it hung down his back, reaching just past his waist, and the bangs obscured his right eye, which was identical in coloring to Rallen’s, only it was slightly more slanted. The clothes he wore were definitely not from anywhere in Nanairo, though they looked slightly similar in design to what she remembered from the Kaio system. Simple black trousers tucked into a pair of fur-lined boots, a deep blue, long-sleeved tunic held together with a belt, which also held a supply bag of some kind on the left, a pair of heavy gloves protecting his hands, and a travel cloak slung around his shoulders.

After giving the two brothers a few moments more to themselves, Jeena finally cleared her throat, though she couldn’t help but smile.

Rallen blinked at the sound, before he seemed to remember that Jeena was also still there and (reluctantly, by the looks of it) pulled away from his brother. “Oh, Rex, this is Jeena. She’s my partner in NPP.”

Rex looked over to Jeena curiously, cocking his head a little to the side, before he smiled at his brother. “Heh… NPP, huh? So you actually made it on your own?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Rallen demanded immediately with an indignant frown, which earned him a hair ruffle from Rex. “Gah!”

“I’m joking, Rall,” Rex chuckled out, before turning to Jeena as she made her way over with a small giggle. “Well… in any case, nice to meet you, Jeena. As you may have heard already, I’m Rex,” he said calmly, holding out his hand for the girl to shake.

Jeena smiled right back and accepted the handshake. “Nice to meet you as well, sir.”

“…You really don’t have to call me ‘sir’…” Rex mumbled. “I feel old enough already…”

As Rex said that, though, Rallen couldn’t stop the small frown coming on his face. He hadn’t noticed it right away (his relief at Rex being okay overriding his observation skills), but Rex was acting a little… off. He couldn’t place it right away, but _something_ about Rex’s behavior was different from what he remembered.

Before he could ask, though, Komainu gave a small wail, drawing Rex’s attention back to the Spectrobe at his feet. Crouching down for a moment, Rex petted Komainu while asking: “By the way… who… or what… is this little guy?”

“Komainu,” Rallen said calmly, crouching down as well to pick up the small Spectrobe. “He’s… well. He’s a Spectrobe.”

“…? What… is a Spectrobe?” Rex asked, tilting his head to the side. “Just how much did I really miss?”

“Maybe it’s better if we explain that to you back at the cruiser,” Jeena offered.

“…Yeah, good idea,” Rex agreed with a nod.

 

A little later, the small group was back in the patrol cruiser, Rex sitting on one of the sleeping pods while Rallen and Jeena took the chairs in the room. While they didn’t have the time or the leisure to explain everything about the Spectrobes, the Krawl, or even Krux, Rallen and Jeena gave Rex a quick, short overview of the basis.

“So these… ‘Spectrobes’… are used to fight those ‘Krawl’… and when they’re no longer needed in one system they fall asleep and… fossilize… Did I get that right?” Rex asked slowly.

“Yeah, that’s about it…” Rallen said with a nod. “And the Spectrobe Masters are the ones who command the Spectrobes and lead them to fight the Krawl.”

“…I see…” Rex murmured, a small thoughtful frown on his face. “…I… missed quite a lot since I… ‘disappeared’… didn’t I?”

“Kinda, yeah…”

Rex sighed softly, shutting his eyes and rubbing his temple. He looked… a little sad, strangely enough.

“Rex? You alright?” Rallen asked worriedly.

“…Yeah… it’s just… I’m finally home and yet… I missed so much…” Rex paused to let out a small sigh once again. “I just feel like I’m a stranger here now… Like it’s my first time in Nanairo…”

Rallen and Jeena shared a look with each other, before Jeena spoke. “Well… no offense, but you _have_ been away for a long time.”

“…True. I suppose I only have myself to blame for that, then…” Rex murmured with a light shrug.

“…Hey, Rex?” Rallen started after a moment of thought. “Are you sure you’re alright beside that? You’ve been acting a little… I don’t know, off…”

“Besides this major migraine I got… I’m fine, really,” Rex said, reaching back to rub the back of his head, flinching slightly as he did. “Ow… dammit, must’ve hit my head on something solid when I came down…”

Rallen suppressed a frown at his brother’s words. There was something else that was odd about Rex, but he was having difficulty placing exactly what it was. It was subtle, not just the odd behavior of his older brother. Rallen remembered his brother to always be full of energy, much like himself, but serious when the need came knocking. Rex was never… sad, or melancholic, but right then, he seemed to be just that.

“If I may ask, what exactly happened to get you _here_ , Rex?” Jeena asked after a moment.

Rex blinked slowly, as though the question had come as a surprise to him. After a few moments, Rex shut his eyes and lightly held his head. “…the engines gave out much sooner than I had anticipated… I wasn’t close enough to Himuro yet, so I was forced to make a landing here…”

“How did you survive that?” the younger orange-haired NPP Officer asked curiously.

“…how did…?” Rex frowned in thought for a moment, before he hissed and gripped his head in both hands. “Urgh… my head…”

“Are you okay?” Jeena asked as she walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder. As she did, though, a shudder ripped through her arm and down her spinal cord, one that made her pause. She hadn’t noticed it earlier, but Rex’s body was… cold. Almost freezing, actually.

“I… I’m okay… just… my head starts pounding whenever I try to think about what happened…” Rex murmured, shaking his head briefly. “Whatever hit me on the head when I came down might’ve scrambled my memory, too…”

“That sucks…” Rallen mumbled.

“You’re telling me…” Rex grumbled. “Worst part is, though, I feel like… like I forgot something… something _really_ important…”

Jeena lightly squeezed Rex’s shoulder, in a weak attempt to confort him. “I’m sure you’ll remember in time. Maybe you just need to lay down…”

“No!” The sudden shout made Jeena back off and caused Rallen to jump. Rex tensed when he realized what he’d done and turned away from them. “No… that’s okay… sorry I yelled…”

“Rex, seriously, what’s _wrong_ with you?” Rallen asked, getting up and walking to his brother, leaning forward on his knees to look the taller man in the eye (or trying to, at least, since he was looking away). “I know you said you have a migraine, but that was never a reason for you to act so… down.”

“…”

“Rex, please… tell me what’s wrong… please…”

Rex remained quiet for a moment, before he gave a small, mirthless chuckle. “Heh… it’s silly, really…”

“Tell me anyway,” Rallen insisted, doing his very best to sound sincere while keeping his eyes trained on his brother.

“…I just… I have this weird feeling… if I close my eyes for longer than a few seconds… I won’t be able to get ‘em open again…” Rex confessed slowly, and given the subtle shudder of his body, it was a concept that probably scared him. Hell, a feeling like was something that would probably have Rallen scared at least a little.

Rallen and Jeena exchanged a quick look, before Rallen turned back to his brother. “Rex… it’s fine… Look, how ‘bout we just go back to Kollin now? I mean… you and Lizzy have a lot to catch up on, right?”

At that point, Rex’s head shot up so fast that he almost hit Rallen right in the forehead. The expression on his face was one of alarm. “Li… oh _shit!!_ ” Rex nearly shouted out and leaped to his feet rushing toward the elevator.

“Hey wha--Rex!! Hold up a second!!” Rallen called out, hurrying after Rex with Jeena and Komainu.

They caught up to Rex just as he was hurrying outside, and Rallen managed to snag him by his wrist.

“Rex, what’s wrong? Why are you so panicked?”

“I… I remember… I… I lost it…”

“Lost it…? What did you lose?” Jeena asked carefully.

“Liz… Lizzy’s present… I lost it somewhere…” Rex mumbled, almost to himself. “If… I go back without it… I…”

“Her pre… oh! Her birthday present, you mean?” Rallen questioned. Liz’s birthday had been a few days after Rex’s unfortunate disappearance 12 years ago, but it seemed that Rex had bought her a present in advance, so he could give it to her right after their patrol mission had been completed.

And now he understood his brother’s ‘panic’. If he showed up without Liz’s present… she’d probably do more than just clock him.

“Ye… yeah… I know it’s late, but…”

“It’s fine, Rex,” Rallen said with a nod. “We’ll help you look for it.”

Jeena nodded in agreement when the taller NPP Officer looked over. “The more people help search, the sooner we’ll find it, right?”

“…Thank you…” Rex murmured, nodding slowly.

“No prob, bro. Right! Iku ze!”


	4. Final Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rallen, Jeena and Rex go to collect Liz's birthday present... but nothing is ever easy...

Soon enough, they were back in the cave where they had first found Rex. The reason for this was simple; Rex had already found a way down to the lower levels, but he’d been in the middle of digging though the wall when Rallen and Jeena had appeared. And with the tools that the two NPP Officers had on them, it was easy enough to break through.

“There we go!” Rallen laughed as the last bits of the wall gave away. “Huh… looks like we should be able to climb down easily enough…”

“Looks like it…” Rex agreed with a small nod.

“Well, let’s go then,” Jeena said calmly.

With that said, the small group slowly began their descent, with Jeena calling out her little orb of light again as they went. It wasn’t overly difficult to get down, for which they were all very glad, but it was still very dark, even with the light source they had, which wasn’t all that much in the first place.

“Hey, Jeena, don’t we have anything else to light the way?” Rallen called out to his partner.

“No, Rallen, this is all we have, so stop asking!”

“Okay, okay… sheesh…”

 

After a few minutes of climbing and bumping their head and toes into ledges and hidden rocks, they finally touched down on the bottom of the shaft. Which, by the way, was even darker, thus making it almost impossible to see anything.

“Okay… here we are… Rex, do you know where you may have left Liz’s present?” Rallen asked as he turned to face his brother.

Said man, however, didn’t seem to have heard him, as he appeared to be too focused on the surrounding area. Strangely enough, he also seemed to be shivering, and while Rallen would agree that it wasn’t too warm there, he was sure it wasn’t _that_ cold. Of course, he knew that if he asked, he probably wouldn’t get an answer to the question from the other man.

“Rex?” Rallen called out in an attempt to catch his brother’s attention, which seemed to work as he jumped and turned to face Rallen.

“Um… sorry, what did you say?” he asked quietly, which was another factor that was odd about Rex. The only times when Rex would speak as quietly as he did now, was when he was trying to not wake Rallen, or if he wanted to say something to Rallen without anyone else hearing about it (something he did whenever Rallen snuck into NPPHQ).

“I asked you if you have ideas on where you dropped Liz’s present,” Rallen repeated instead of commenting on it. He’d ask about it later.

Rex was silent for a moment, before he put a hand to his temple. “…No… I… may have actually… left it on the ship, but… I… I don’t remember…”

“It’s okay, Rex, don’t strain yourself,” Jeena said, softly placing a hand on his shoulder. Again, she repressed the urge to shudder. “We’ll just look everywhere for now. Okay?”

“…yeah, okay…”

With that said, the small group began to move ahead, carefully maneuvering around chunks of debris and making their way further into the darkness. Komainu was running ahead of them, sniffing along the ground curiously as they went. The little Spectrobe had obviously managed to pick up that they were looking for something very important, so he was doing whatever he could without Rallen or Jeena needing to tell him.

“…Hey, Jeena?” Rallen whispered suddenly as Rex moved ahead a little further, slowing his pace to increase the distance a little further. “I know you don’t know Rex as well as I do, but… don’t you think something’s… really off about him?”

“Yeah…” Jeena agreed softly, looking ahead toward the other man. “I don’t know him that well… but his behavior is indeed a little strange… Not to mention he…”

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Rallen asked softly when Jeena stopped talking.

“Didn’t you notice? He’s almost freezing,” Jeena softly hissed out, reminding herself to keep quiet so Rex wouldn’t hear. “I know it’s cold here, but it shouldn’t be cold enough for him to be _that_ cold…”

At that, Rallen frowned, looking over to his brother as he moved on ahead. He _had_ noticed, actually, but he hadn’t actually thought much about it. He had just blamed that on the chill of the planet, but was that really all there was to it?

He was starting to have his doubts…

“Rallen, Jeena…” Rex called out suddenly, making the duo blink, before hurrying over.

When Rallen and Jeena joined Rex and Komainu, they realized immediately what was wrong. Ahead of them was yet another pit, and it was big enough to prevent them from going anywhere, since it was too long to jump over and too wide to shimmy past (which wouldn’t have worked anyway without ledges).

“Another pit? Esh… someone really doesn’t want us progressing any further…” Rallen grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. “How do we get over this?”

“I’m not sure…” Jeena murmured, even as Rex took a few steps back and looked up. “We need to make a bridge, but we’ll need to--”

“…If we can pull that stalactite down from the ceiling… that could serve as a bridge…” Rex said, pointing up to the ceiling, making the pair look up.

True enough, there was a large stalactite hanging right above the pit that would probably fit perfectly if they could break it off properly. However, it was well out of their range, and it was too big and solid for a child Spectrobe to break loose.

“With all due respect, Rex,” Jeena said after a moment, as Rex put his right indexfinger to his mouth and bit down on the material of his glove, pulling it off with just his teeth, “it’s a nice idea, but we can’t break it loose from the ceiling… it’s better if we just…”

“…I got this…” Rex said as he removed his glove and reached for his arm to roll up the sleeve.

“Huh?”

Rallen and Jeena exchanged a look as Rex did so, quietly questioning what the older man had just said, before turning to Rex as he placed his glove in his pocket for a moment.

“You got some kind of gadget to pull that thing down, Rex?” Rallen asked curiously with his head slightly cocked to the side.

“…I… suppose you can call it that…” the older man said slowly, finally bringing his right arm up – and Jeena gasped in shock, while Rallen stared at what they saw.

Rex’s right arm to just above the elbow appeared to be made of some sort of dull golden material, though it looked more like it was a collection of particles of varying sizes, some the size of pebbles and others almost the size of a baseball, with pale blue energy-like veins keeping them all clunked together. The particles were positioned in such a way that, if the limb was fully clothed, you wouldn’t be able to see it wasn’t a natural arm, and they even imitated the nails on his fingers.

“Whoa! What _is_ that?!” Rallen asked in awe.

“…Just… something I found once… after… an accident…” Rex said solemnly, before he raised his arm and splayed out the palm of his right hand to level it with the stalactite. “I’ll… I’ll explain the rest later…”

As he finished saying that, the energy between the particles pulsed suddenly – and the segments broke apart and began to hover in midair around the stump that remained of Rex’s arm, making it obvious that the segments actually served as his arm, rather than simply cover it. The energy that had kept them connected now seemed to be keeping them afloat, making the golden material shine a light silvery-blue, almost.

Both Jeena and Rallen watched curiously as the segments hovered for a moment while Rex took a deep breath, as though in concentration, before the segments rushed up toward the stalactite, coalescing and forming a powerful looking claw, which grabbed hold of the bottom of the spire. Rex frowned in thought, as the claw  seemed to be tugging on the piece of rock.

“…holding on better than I thought…” he murmured. “…won’t help, though…”

The claw flexed its fingers around the spire briefly, as though adjusting its hold, before it yanked sharply, making the spire crack ominously.

“…get down…”

With that said and one more, resounding crash that echoed through the cave and made Jeena and Rallen jump back in surprise, the spire broke loose from the ceiling and the claw released the stalactite, moving out of the way quickly and catching it by the top by drilling its fingers into the surface. And, despite that it wasn’t actually attached to Rex’s arm right then, the man actually groaned, as though he were struggling to keep the spire in midair.

“…damn… it’s… heavier than I thought…”

The claw seemed to shake subtly, but it still lowered the spire into the hole, letting it go only when Rex seemed to be positive it wouldn’t fall all the way down. Once he seemed completely sure of this, the claw pried itself loose from the spire and burst apart again, flying back over to Rex and reforming into his arm. The orange-haired NPP Officer took a moment to flex his fingers, before adjusting his sleeve and pulling his glove on again.

“Wow! That was so awesome! What is that thing?!” Rallen called out in excitement.

Rex allowed a small smile as he placed one hand along his arm. “What it is? Heh… honestly… I’m not sure… All I know is that it works in the same way my normal arm would… only it has a few… ‘extras’, I suppose you could say…”

“I see… was it part of the technology of the planet you ended up on?” Jeena asked, even as they began to climb over the stalactite to cross what was left of the pit.

“…not… exactly…” the other man murmured. “It was more like… a ‘lost technology’… Something that had been left over from the civilization living there before the current race.”

“Lost technology, huh?” Rallen murmured thoughtfully.

“Do you think it’s possible to replicate it, Rex?” Jeena asked, almost as curious as her partner.

“I don’t think so… plus it’s… a bit sensitive for me… since it serves as my arm…” Rex said softly. “I’m not sure if it… heals if I injure myself… but I’d rather not test that…”

“Understandable…” Rallen mumbled, as he seemed to think for a few moments.

But before he could say anything, Komainu barked loudly and dashed ahead. Wordlessly, the three humans hurried after the little Spectrobe, down a winding pathway, until they finally arrived inside a wide cave like area.

The walls and part of the ground were littered with razor sharp spires that were sticking out at all angles, and up ahead of them, in the very back of the room, was what remained of what must’ve been Rex’s ship at one point. It was large, a little bigger than the standard patrol cruiser, but it almost looked like the relic spaceship Rallen and Jeena dug up on Nessa. When it had been in one piece, it must’ve looked quite impressive. Now, it had been reduced to a large metal pincushion.

“Ulp… do I even _want_ to know how you survived that?” Rallen asked slowly.

Rex blinked, cocking his head sideways as he looked to the ship, as though he was seeing something completely different from what Rallen and Jeena were seeing. His eyes were unfocused and glassy, but his expression was that of someone trying to think very hard on something.

“…Rex? Are you alright?” Jeena asked slowly.

“…”

“…Bro?” Rallen called out, starting to get a little worried.

Rex slowly stepped forward a bit more, watching the ship silently and not seeming to hear the two NPP’s at all.

“Rex…?”

The other man didn’t respond to the call, remaining where he was, staring up at the ship he had used to get back to Nanairo. He seemed to be lost in thought, as though there was something there only he could see. After a moment longer, however, he hissed out in pain and grasped his head in both hands, fingers almost digging into his scalp.

“Nrgh… w-why does my head… urgh… why? What… what _happened_ here?!” Rex choked out, dropping down to his knees.

“Rex?!” Rallen cried out, hurrying over to his brother’s side, Jeena not far behind. As they crouched down beside him, Rallen placed a hand on Rex’s shoulder, feeling the cold of his body through the cloak and successfully suppressing a shudder as he asked: “Rex, what’s wrong?”

“S… something… happened… something bad… I _know_ it happened… but… but I don’t remember… what _it_ was…” Rex wheezed out, his eyes clenched shut tightly as he attempted to remember. “What was it? What the _hell_ happened here?!”

“Rex, calm down…” Jeena murmured softly, placing one hand on his shoulder and the other on his back. She was unable to fully suppress her shudder, though. “C’mon… deep breath… just… calm down. It won’t come to you if you’re panicked like that.”

Rex took a few deep breaths, before he slowly opened his eyes again. “…I know it’s important… why… can’t I remember?”

“…Well, can you remember how you came here, Rex?” Rallen asked after a moment. “Try to remember that and maybe… maybe you’ll remember what happened after.”

The taller man didn’t reply right away, but he did furrow his brows in thought.

“How… did I…” he murmured softly, beginning to think back.

 

_“Oyoooyyyaaawn… eshkivilles… how far away is Himuro from Section Y, anyway?” Rex grumbled in annoyance, rubbing at his eyes to remove the tears that his last yawn had brought on. “I swear… either Nanairo expanded since I was gone, or this pile of dust is slower than I originally thought…”_

_Taking a brief moment off the controls to stretch, Rex grumbled a little incoherently under his breath as he stretched out, cracking his fingers as he did. Taking hold of the wheel again, Rex rubbed the back of his head and clucked his tongue._

_“This thing doesn’t have autopilot anywhere does it? …Why am I even asking? I checked that before I left!” Rex took a moment to rub the bridge of his nose, before murmuring: “And I gotta stop talking to myself… talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity…”_

_Suppressing another yawn, Rex gazed out upon the open space ahead of him, allowing a small smile. “But… at least I made it back… Wonder if Rallen’s made it into NPP while I was gone. I’m sure Lizzy must’ve been training him properly… well, I hope she did, at least. She said she would, but… …Ah, whatever. I should worry more ‘bout my own hide… she’s prolly gonna kill me if I dare show up empty-handed… hell, she might do it anyway…”_

_Looking to the side, he allowed a fond smile as his gaze rested on the small object he had left there. Bringing up his right hand, he allowed a few segments of his hand to float over and pick it up, placing it in the palm of his hand before they returned to their original locations in his arm again. “Hope she keeps me alive for long enough to ask her, though… I might be too late already… but hell. Better late than never… I don’t think I’d ever be able to forgive myself if I ended up leaving again without asking…”_

_Quietly, he brought it to his chest and sighed softly. “…I wonder what she’ll say… Would she even listen? …hope so…”_

_Suddenly, the alarm blared and Rex jumped, the sudden motion causing the object in his hand to fly from his hand to scatter across the floor. “Oh you gotta be! Do I just have the universe’s worst possible luck or what?!” Rex snarled out as he fiddled with some of the controls, even as a few segments of his arm rushed out from under his glove to quickly grab the fallen object.  “Why now of all times?! I’m nowhere near Himuro yet! Shit!!” Rex roared, slamming his fist on the metal plating. “What to do? This thing doesn’t look like it’s got the energy to reach Himuro… and the last thing I need is to float around endlessly… Ugh… my luck really su—WHOA!!”_

_The last exclamation was because the ship suddenly tilted sideways, almost throwing Rex out of his seat. Somehow, he managed to stay as upright as he could, his right arm coiled around the armrest and his left hand holding onto the wheel._

_“What the hell?! …Oh shit, don’t tell me…! Crap! Meido’s gravity is pulling this damn thing in! Grrr! Said it once, I’ll say it again; my luck sucks!”_

_With the engines already dying on him, it was really only a matter of time before the ship could no longer resist Meido’s gravitational pull and it plummeted down. Of course, Rex wasn’t going to go down that easy, and somehow he managed to swerve the ship around for it to do a bellyflop onto Meido’s surface, where it skidded along before coming to a stop on the edge of the pit. The sudden halt snapped Rex forward and then backward, smashing his skull into the back of his seat with a resounding crack._

_The hit caused Rex to see stars for a few moments, and he hissed in pain, keeping a hand to his head as his vision started to blur. “…ow… da-dammit… ow…”_

_Reaching out, Rex attempted to find the clasp of his seatbelt, but his fingers couldn’t find it right off the bat, leaving him fumbling a little before he was able to get loose._

_“Sh… shit… this is… this is bad… feel like I’m gonna throw up…” he choked out, clambering out of the seat and almost hitting the floor. “What the hell… I should… be used to hits like that… am I that… outta shape?”_

_Just as he was about to walk, though, the ship tipped under its own weight and the orange-haired man lost his balance and fell backwards to smash into the control panel with a grunt of pain. Then, just as suddenly, there was a moment of weightlessness… and then… darkness…_

 

“…!!!” Rex’s eyes snapped wide open in alarm, the haze leaving his mind and he almost seemed to stop breathing. The weariness from before was gone, leaving him with a crystal clear understanding of what had happened… and he really wished it hadn’t come back to him. “No… no way…!”

“Rex? Are you okay? Did you—”

However, Rex shot up from the ground before Rallen could finish the question and immediately started for the ship without a word.

“H-hey, Rex! Hold up a second!” Rallen called out as he and Jeena hurried to catch up.

But just as they were about to catch up, Rex turned on them and stopped them with a hand on their shoulders. “No! Stay here! I… I have to do this myself.”

“Eh? But… Bro, that doesn’t make—”

“Rallen, stay put.”

“But—”

“STAY PUT!!”

Rallen immediately snapped his jaw shut, memories of his brother’s temper from his childhood resurfacing. “…a-alright…”

Jeena looked to Rallen in slight surprise when her partner just agreed to stay put, but one more look at Rex’s face and she had to resist the urge to gulp. Rex looked… quite scary when he was angry, and she hoped he’d never be so angry with them. Well, truthfully, this wasn’t really ‘angry’, it was more like he was just giving them a glare that was meant to keep them in place.

Of course, that didn’t mean he wasn’t angry to begin with.

Once Rex was sure they wouldn’t follow him, he spun around and almost ran to the ship. Neither Rallen or Jeena moved from their spots and merely watched as Rex opened the entrance and went inside. Both of them remained silent, waiting in their spot for Rex to come back out with the present he had forgotten, but he was taking an awfully long time with it.

“…Rex? Are you okay in there?” Rallen called out, making sure not to move from his spot. He remembered well enough that Rex was not someone you wanted to piss off, since he wasn’t afraid to throw any punches. Thankfully, he’d never actually punched Rallen or their mother, but that didn’t mean Rallen wasn’t afraid of his brother’s temper.

After a moment more of waiting, though, he realized that no response came at all.

“Rex?”

Silence.

Rallen and Jeena glanced to each other, both of them frowning in worry. Looking over to the ship again, this time it was Jeena who called out.

“Rex, is something wrong?

No response came.

This caused both Rallen and Jeena to look at each other in worry once again, before Rallen called out: “Rex! We’re coming over there!”

When there was no response again, the pair exchanged a nod and began walking forward, with Komainu hurrying after them. As they came within range of the ship, however, Rex finally came out again, but his face was tilted down and he refused to look to the pair. His hand was placed upon the side of the entrance, and he just stood there for a few long moments, as though thinking… and then he dropped down to his knees.

“Rex?!” Rallen choked out in surprise, moving over to his brother and kneeling down in front of him. “What’s wrong? Did you find the present?”

“……”

“Rex, c’mon… talk to me, bro…”

“……”

Rallen looked over worriedly to Jeena, who seemed just as confused and worried as Rallen, before turning back to Rex. “Rex… if you got what you need, let’s go home.”

“…I can’t…”

“…what?”

“…I can’t go home…”

Rallen and Jeena exchanged a confused look, before Jeena walked over to crouch in front of Rex as well.

“Rex, of course you can go home. We just need—”

“No… I can’t go home…” Rex whispered, slowly shaking his head. “…I… I don’t belong there… I don’t belong… anywhere anymore…”

“Rex, what are you talking about? You’re not making any sense!” Rallen almost shouted, grabbing hold of his brother’s shoulders – and he froze when his hands moved _through_ the other man, hearing Jeena’s shocked gasp. “Wh… what…??”

“…I can’t go home…” Rex whispered. “…because… because… I’m dead…”

Silence.

Neither Rallen or Jeena have the words they need to say what’s on their minds, and whenever they almost found them, they fluttered out of their reach. Even Rallen, who could usually find words for any situation, was having extreme difficulty with handling the situation he was suddenly thrust in. Slowly, he reached out again, trying once more to take hold of his brother’s shoulder, but, again, his hand fell through… like he was trying to touch air.

Like there was… nothing in front of him…

“…no…” Rallen choked out finally. He shook his head, unable to believe what he had just heard. “No no no… Re… Rex… you… n-no…”

Jeena stared for a moment longer, before she, carefully, stepped around her partner and walked into the ship. Komainu was quick to follow after her into the ship’s depths, which was much darker than she would’ve liked. Still, she forced herself to move forward and took slow, careful steps. And then her foot shot forward and she gave a cry as her body dropped backwards, making her hit the ground with a heavy thud.

That seemed to snap Rallen out of his stupor (for the moment) as he looked up in surprise, before he called out: “Jeena?! Are you okay?!”

“I-I’m fine… I just slipped on… some… thing…?”

Slowly, she brought up her hand, which had landed on a part of the pool of liquid she had actually slipped on. The palm was stained with a thick, deep red liquid that gradually rolled down the inside of her wrist. It was a liquid she was far too familiar with…

It was blood…

Her body shook slightly in trepidation to what she’d find, but she summoned her orb of light anyway. However, she instinctively shut her eyes against the light, and it took her a few moments for her to be able to open them again.

She was very impressed with herself that she didn’t scream when she did.

The ship’s control panel had been pierced through by several large spires and had thus been rendered useless. But the thing that had almost made her scream was what had been speared on one of the spires.

“Oh my god…” she breathed out in slight horror, crawling away from the body that she _knew_ had to be Rex’s… but Rex was sitting in the doorway with Rallen, she knew.

The body she was staring at was speared right through the chest, and the tip of the spire that stuck out was dyed red, most of the right arm was missing, and on the ground just below it lay the remains of a pile of dull copper rocks, some of them reduced to mere dust. Long, reddish-orange hair hung across the figure’s face to obscure the face in shadow, but she could see a trail of blood seeping from the corner of the person’s mouth. The left glove had been removed, revealing a familiar handheld messenger that had been secured to what appeared to be a custom made gauntlet. It had been flipped open, and the letters “E”, “I”, “O”, “D” and “M” were covered in blood, as were the buttons for “new” and “send”.

“No way… how… how is…?” Jeena choked out, moving back more – and she almost jumped when her fingers brushed up against something.

When she looked, she could only stare at the small, dark box with a small golden border betraying where it was to be opened. It was a type of box that Jeena had often seen many times before, but never this close.

Carefully, she reached out and picked it up. Somehow, it had avoided the puddle of blood and appeared almost pristine, with the exception of a few minor dust particles. Ever so slowly, she opened the small case and her expression fell into a depressed frown.

Komainu cocked his head a little at the body, not seeming to understand what was going on, before looking over to Jeena as she stood and walked back to the entrance almost listlessly. The small Spectrobe was quick to follow, even if he didn’t understand what was happening.

As Jeena stopped just short of the doorway, she caught her partner’s eye. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes were almost pleading, begging her not to say what he most likely already knew to be true. She tried to speak, but the words refused to come, so she merely looked away, biting her lip to keep her tears at bay.

“…no…” Rallen’s voice was barely a whisper, and Jeena was genuinely impressed that he wasn’t crying yet. Not that she wasn’t expecting him not to… it was merely taking him longer than she thought.

However…

“…you… YOU BASTARD!!” Rallen suddenly screamed, rearing back and swinging out as if to punch Rex – but the hit flew right through him and struck the doorway instead. The NPP Officer howled in pain as he tended to his fist, cursing furiously, angrier than Jeena had ever seen him since being partnered with the Spectrobe Master.

“R-Rallen! Calm down!” Jeena got out in a feeble attempt to calm her partner down, but Rallen wasn’t having it.

“Twelve years… twelve _goddamn_ years you kept us waiting and wishing that you were coming home… that you were coming back to us!! And now… now you finally get back… and you damn well get yourself killed!! Is this your idea of a friggin’ _joke?!_ ”

“You think this is the kinda thing I’d joke about?!” Rex screamed back before Jeena could say anything, and the man sounded just as furious as Rallen did. “Heck, if I’d known right of the bat things would end up like this I would’ve _never_ come back!!”

“Yeah, well maybe you should’ve just gotten yourself killed from the start!! That would’ve saved us all a ton of misery right now!!”

“Oh yeah, but a ton of misery is still a ton of misery ain’t it?! Even if I’d died _then_ it would NOT have made things any easier, you damn brat!!”

“Who’re you calling a brat, you bastard?!”

“You need me to spell it out to you or something?! You’re the friggin’ brat here, _brat!!_ ”

“You call me that again and I’ll rip your corpse apart inside out!!”

“You do that and I’ll see to it that you’ll have your own ‘unfortunate accident’ to worry about!!”

Jeena tried several times to jump in, but the insults just kept flying back and forth. She had never seen Rallen so furious before, and quite honestly, it was a little scary, but at the same time, she couldn’t believe how he was actually insulting his own brother like that. Of course, the fact that Rex was even screaming back at Rallen added to her own frustration. And she was about to shout at them to shut up and act like adults for once… when she saw them;

Tears.

The longer the insults continued, the more crystalline tears began to gather at both men’s eyes, and then trickled down their cheeks like rivers. Rallen’s tears came down upon his thighs, the black material of his jumpsuit hiding the evidence of his sorrow perfectly, while Rex’s tears seemed to evaporate halfway down their fall. Their expressions barely shifted as they yelled at each other and she wasn’t sure what to think of that, but after a moment longer, she decided to just stay back for a while.

It wasn’t like Rallen could actually kill his brother after all…

“And you wanna know something else?! _I HATE YOU!!_ ” Rallen screamed out suddenly, and that definitely startled Jeena.

She knew it wasn’t true, and that Rallen had probably only said it because he was angry, but those were still powerful words to shout at anyone. Especially at someone whom you actually loved very much.

But before she could say anything about it…

“You do, huh?! Well _good!!_ Coz I friggin’ hate you too!!”

And with that, they fell silent, panting for breath, glaring each other down with their tears still streaming down their cheeks. Jeena wanted to say something, but she didn’t know what she could say to lessen the feelings of anger with the pair of men. She liked to believe she knew Rallen well enough, but she had never had to deal with a furiously pissed off Rallen before, and it left her both confused and worried.

But as she stood there, just watching, Rallen’s expression changed just slightly and he bit his lip harshly as his entire frame started to shake, hands fisted by his sides, digging the nails into his palm. Rex’s expression was hardly any different, and for a moment, Jeena thought they were about to start screaming again, but…

“…this is unfair…” Rallen mumbled, lowering his head to let his bangs obscure his eyes. “…all this time… we waited and waited for you… Liz… Liz was so sure… she _knew_ you were alive…coz… coz you promised… you said you’d come right after her…” He tried to continue, but he choked on a poorly concealed sob. “You… you hate breaking promises… always did… so I… I believed her… I believed her when she said you’d come back…” This time he failed to suppress a sob. “I worked so hard… to get in NPP when you left… so that when… when you came back… we could go on missions together… coz you… you said we would if I… if I got in…”

Jeena’s expression fell as she heard Rallen release something like a frustrated whimper when he reached up wipe away his tears. “Rallen…

“And… and Liz was always waiting…” Rallen continued softly. “She was… she was always looking out the window… she… she was searching the skies for you…” He paused for a moment to take a breath. “And… and whenever she… she saw a shooting star… she… she’d get all hopeful but… but it was never you… she… how could… how could you do that… to her? Dammit this… this is unfair…”

Rex was quiet for a few moments, before a slow, sad smile crossed his face. “…just Lizzy?”

Rallen blinked and looked up in confusion, his eyes red because of his tears. Rex reached out with one hand, and his fingers lightly moved over Rallen cheek, to the corner of his eye to wipe the tears away.

“You’re upset… just because of me leaving Lizzy?” Rex asked softly. “What about you?”

“Wha… what about me?!” Rallen demanded, but he choked on a sob as he did. “Li-Liz is more important to you, right?! S-so what do I—”

“Heh… you’re still placing others’ feelings above your own, aren’t you?” Rex said with that same smile still playing on his lips as he put his palm on his brother’s cheek. “You’ve always been like that; the safety and feelings of others come before your own, and you’d be willing to suffer a cracked rib if it meant keeping someone else safe. …how old were you again when you did that?” Rex asked suddenly, smirking fondly at Rallen.

“Um… f-four… I think…” Rallen said slowly after a brief moment of thought, and that little tidbit almost made Jeena gawk at him.

“See what I mean? You’ve always cared more about others than you cared about yourself, even if they were total strangers to you. That’s why I always knew that, once you were old enough, you’d make a fine NPP Officer,” Rex said warmly, which made Rallen look down slightly, as though he was embarrassed. “Being in NPP revolves around more than just being strong, or smart, or obeying orders. If you don’t have the heart to care about others, you’re just not meant for the job.” For a moment, Rex paused, before his smile became both sad and caring. “And about Liz… Lizzy is special to me, yes… but that doesn’t make _you_ any less important to me. You’re my little brother, and you will _always_ be important to me. _Always_.”

Rallen blinked a few times as his brother spoke those words, more tears running down his cheeks with every blink.

“…a…always?”

“Always.” Rex reached out and tried to move the other’s bangs away, but his fingers passed right through. This made the man frown in slight annoyance and concentration, before he tried again. And this time, his fingers gently moved the orange locks aside. “You grew into a great NPP Officer, Rallen, and I’m so proud of you… my only regret is that I was never there to see you get this far…”

“…R… Rex…”

Rather than say anything, Rex seemed to focus on something, before he moved forward and pulled Rallen into a hug, startling the younger man. That surprise only lasted a moment, though, and Rallen bit his lip briefly before he returned the hug a bit awkwardly (possibly because he feared he wouldn’t be able to touch him), burying his face in the man’s shoulder. Like this, they stayed for a long time, with Rallen still doing everything he could to keep his tears and sobs at bay, though he wasn’t doing such a good job at it. And then Rex spoke the words that broke Rallen’s control over his emotions…

“I’m sorry, Rallen… I know that no matter how many times I say it, it’ll never make things right… but I am. I really am sorry…”

Rallen’s body shook for a moment, and his hands fisted in the ‘material’ (there wasn’t really anything there, after all) of Rex’s clothes, and Jeena could actually feel her own eyes beginning to water, just before Rallen released an anguished wail and bawled loudly, clinging to his brother as tightly as he could. And Rex merely held on to his kid brother as the boy cried and wailed until his throat was raw, his own tears still flowing down steadily.

Komainu let out a small, confused whine, clearly not realizing what was wrong, but he could tell that _something_ was off. So the small Spectrobe scurried over and climbed into Rallen’s lap, nuzzling into the officer’s stomach.

And Jeena, unable to just stand by and watch any longer, moved around them, dropped down behind her partner and wound her own arms around his waist, resting her head along his back. If Rallen noticed her doing so, he didn’t show it, but she didn’t blame him for it.

She couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of turmoil her partner had to be in right then. They had come all this way to Meido to find his brother, and when they finally found him, they come to the realization that they were already too late. Losing his brother the first time must’ve been so terrible to him, though Liz had calmed that sadness by saying that he was still alive. Then his mother passed away, and Liz had to take the place of Rallen’s caretaker, which was a sadness not even Liz would’ve been able to calm, she knew. And now he’d been so close to being together with his brother again after so many years… and he was robbed away from him yet again…

Jeena couldn’t begin to understand his feelings right then, but just the thought of having to go through all of that made her tears flow like a pair of cascading waterfalls, with no possible end in sight…

For the longest time, they stayed like that, sobs that were both silent and audible coming from two out of four, and a soft whine coming from the smallest of them. It seemed to last for forever, but as Rallen’s wails finally began to die down, Jeena became aware of another sound;

Rex’s voice…

 

“ _The darkness will come again tonight_  
 _But it will never come to your door_  
 _Never to your door_  
 _For your heart shines bright_  
 _Shines to chase the darkness away_

_The light will always return to you_   
_But until the morning dawns again_   
_Dawns again in the morning_   
_Let your heart shine bright_   
_And let the darkness pass you by_

_As the dark and light continue their fight_   
_I shall stay by your side tonight_   
_Tonight until the very stars fall asleep_   
_As my light joins yours together_   
_Sending the darkness away from you_

_I shall always keep watch over you_  
 _As you are precious to me_  
 _And thus I shall guard you_  
 _Until my light is no more_  
 _And your light outshines mine_ ”

 

It was definitely some form of lullaby, but Jeena had never heard it before. Regardless of that, the song was oddly soothing. Rex was a good singer, and it reminded her of the time when Rallen had sung her fear of thunderstorms away. Absently, Jeena wondered if this was what Rex used to sing to Rallen to get the younger boy to go to sleep at night, but the thought wouldn’t stick for long, as she felt her consciousness slowly drifting away from her…

 

When Rallen blinked his eyes open again, he was laying on his side, which was a bit confusing. Even more confusing was the fact that Jeena was curled up against his back and Komainu against his stomach, still fast asleep. His memory was also a bit fuzzy, and he started to wonder where he was and what he was doing there, before it all came rushing back to him and he almost shot up in alarm. However, a soft, cold touch to his shoulder prevented him from doing so.

“…Rex?”

“Still here…” his brother murmured softly. “…for now.”

Those words made Rallen's expression drop as he settled back on his side. “…so you’re… you’re really…”

“…”

“…this is so unfair…”

“…I know, Rallen. I know…”

Silence fell over them for a few long moments, before Rallen bit his lip.

“What am I gonna tell Liz?”

“…I think… she already knows…”

Rallen blinked and looked up to Rex. “How? We didn’t learn you were… were… until…”

Rex merely smiled softly. “I don’t know how… she just knows such things without them needing to be said.”

“…oh.” Rallen remained quiet for a few moments, before he murmured: “…still not going to be easy…”

“I know…” Rex took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, staring ahead of himself for a moment. “…Rall?”

“Yeah?”

“…could you do me a favor?”

“…what kind of favor?”

“…just… could you make sure Liz gets her present?” Rex asked softly, pointing to the small box that Jeena had dropped a little away from them. “I know I’m probably several years too late, but… better late than never, huh?”

Rallen looked over to the box, and a sad frown came over his face as he reached out and pulled to small box to him. “…you really _were_ going to ask…”

“…yeah.”

“…on her birthday?”

“…” Rex seemed to consider the question for a moment, before speaking again. “Back when she was in the academy… she would always get showered with gifts from random guys on her birthday and she came to dread it… until she simply stopped caring.” The older man gave a soft sigh. “I wanted to give her something special… something to make her look forward to it again… But she wasn’t too open about what she wanted.”

“…so why propose?”

“…heh… I joked that I could give her a ring on her birthday, and she actually tried to punch me, saying that that wasn’t something to joke about… she turned an impressive shade of red, too…” Rex murmured. After a few moments, though, he added: “That… and I’d actually been thinking of asking her soon, anyway…”

“…but… you only knew her for a year then… not even, actually…”

“I know.”

“You were alive longer than you knew her…”

“I know.”

“…then why? Just for fun?”

“Rallen, a girl’s emotions are _very_ fragile. Even Lizzy’s. Something like that… should never be taken lightly.”

“But… then why?”

Rex merely smiled. “Isn’t that obvious already, Rall?”

“…can you really say _that_ … after only knowing someone for little time?”

“…It’s possible,” Rex said softly. “You can’t decide it for yourself… and usually you won’t know it happened until it smacks you upside the head with a wrench.”

Rallen allowed a tiny smirk at Rex’s words, before he sobered up. “…do you still love her?”

“…I never stopped loving her…”

Silence befell the two brothers for a few moments, before Rallen shut his eyes sadly. He lay like that for a few moments, gathering his thoughts before looking up again.

“She… she loves you, too, bro…”

Rex blinked and looked over. “She does?”

“Hmhmm… she never said so… but I could tell… I knew there had to be _something_ between you two… I know she… she never stopped loving you, too…”

Rallen blinked when he got his hair ruffled, making him raise his head in slight surprise. Rex merely smiled down at him as he ran his ghostly fingers through his brother’s hair. “Thanks, Rall…”

“No prob… I just wish you could come back with us…”

“Me too, Rall… me too…” Looking up to the sky high above them, Rex finally sighed. “…you two should go now… You two still have a job to do, don’t you?”

“…yeah…” Rallen cautiously sat up, making sure not to wake Jeena and Komainu, and scooted over to Rex, giving his brother one last hug. “I’ll miss you, Rex…”

“I know… I’m gonna miss you, too…” Rex murmured as he returned the embrace. “I love you, lil brother…”

“I love you, too, big bro…”

Rallen could feel his brother’s presence fading away, but he refused to let go, until he was grasping at nothing but air and had no choice. He looked around, as though hoping to catch a glimpse of his brother, but he already knew it was a waste of time.

He had never really been there, after all…

Rallen resisted the urge to start crying all over again, and instead looked down to the black velvet box he held in his hand, running his thumb along the gilded edges. Slowly, he flicked it open and looked at the contents, but only for a brief moment before he placed it away safely and turned to his partner again.

He reached over and lightly shook her by her shoulder. “Jeena… Jeen, c’mon, wake up. We gotta go.”

Jeena groaned sleepily for a moment, before she pushed up and rubbed at her eyes. “Rallen…?” she murmured, before she stifled a yawn. “Mmm… I must’ve dozed off… wait! Where’s…?!”

“Gone,” Rallen said simply as he got up to his feet and held out his hand to the pink-haired girl. “Hey, c’mon. Let’s go. We still got something to do.”

Though a bit confused at first, Jeena allowed him to pull her up, which ended up waking Komainu as well (who had probably fallen asleep not long after they had). Instead of walking back the way they had come, however, Rallen walked back into Rex’s ship.

“Rallen?” Jeena called out in surprise, hurrying after a few moments later. When she caught up to her partner, she realized what he was planning, and her expression fell just slightly. “Do you need some help?”

“Nah. He’s just being stubborn as usual…” Rallen grumbled, gradually easing his brother’s dead body off of the spire, not caring if the dripping blood stained his uniform. “Get… OFF!!” he cried out, stumbling backwards a few steps in an attempt to keep the corpse from hitting the floor. “Dammit, Rex… why do you _always_ make things difficult?” Rallen grumbled, turning around and pulling his brother onto his back, linking his arms under the man’s knees. “Okay… let’s go, Jeen.”

Jeena only nodded once and then walked after her partner wordlessly.

She didn’t know what was going through her friend’s head… but nothing she could say would ever make this situation right again…

There was nothing she could do, and she hated it, because Rallen needed the support, and yet she couldn’t give it to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Rex is singing is just a random song I made up at one point... but it's part of a different theory I have.


	5. Epilogue: Final Message

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rallen and Jeena return home to Kollin, and are tasked with delivering the news...

When they came back to the cruiser, they remained silent all the way, with Rallen still carrying his brother’s corpse. Rallen immediately went to their resting chambers and finally set down his brother against his bed. The back of his uniform was sticky and reeked of blood, but Rallen couldn’t bring himself to care. Jeena came into the room a little later, wordlessly carrying a first aid kit, as though she already realized what Rallen was planning.

Rallen only nodded and started to remove the bloodstained clothes that covered his brother’s body. He paused once he had the shirt off, however, to move Rex’s bangs aside. Jeena gasped in alarm at the large scar that ran over the man’s eye, but Rallen only frowned sadly as he ran his fingers over it briefly, before letting the bangs drop again.

With the shirt gone, Rallen picked up the roll of gauze and began to wrap it across his brother’s chest, and Jeena moved over to help him, to cover the gaping hole that neither of them wished to think about or even look at. Once done with that, Jeena moved away and walked to one of the machines they had in the room.

It was something that Rallen fondly referred to as ‘the Tailor’. Given their profession, it wasn’t uncommon for them to rip up their uniform or smash their armored gauntlets or boots. Since there were times when NPP Officers couldn’t be on inhabited spots of the planet all the time, the higher ups had deemed it necessary (for both safety and vanity) for all ships to have such a machine. It allowed them to warp in a new uniform from NPPHQ in the event it was needed.

Jeena wordlessly typed in the required items in the required size (having already scanned Rex for the measurements), and watched as the items were warped in. Picking them up, she walked back to Rallen to help him silently. It took them a little while to get the items on Rex, however, as rigor mortis was steadily starting to creep in on the body, so they moved as fast and careful as they dared.

And finally, Rallen pulled his brother’s body upright and placed him down upon his bed, fully clothed in the NPP uniform, with the only real exception being his right arm, given that he was missing quite a chunk of the limb. If they didn’t know any better, they could almost swear that Rex was merely sleeping.

After a moment longer of just staring down at the corpse (a word Rallen loathed to use), they finally left the room behind and returned to the cockpit, with Komainu hurrying on behind them. And still they did not speak a word until they were both seated once again.

“…so… let’s… go home…” Rallen murmured softly, even though he was already starting the engines up.

Jeena nodded in response. “Yeah… let’s go…”

And with that said, the cruiser lifted off of the planet’s surface and then took off.

 

They were halfway from Meido to Kollin when the comm system suddenly beeped, signaling they had an incoming call.

Rallen looked a little blankly at the comm when it went off, but he seemed hesitant to answer. Jeena wouldn’t blame him, but they were required to answer, still, so she typed a few things and opened the link.

As the screen flickered on, it was Grant’s face that greeted them.

“ _Rallen, Jeena. Where have you two been?_ ”

“Ah, sorry, sir… we’ve been… a little sidetracked,” Jeena said, her own voice cracking just slightly.

And Rallen didn’t even try to say anything; he just stared ahead of him silently, lost in his thoughts. He knew it wasn’t polite, especially in front of Commander Grant, but at that particular point, it really didn’t matter to him if it was polite or not.

“ _Sidetracked? You were outside of communication range for most of the day. What happened?_ ”

“Um… a-actually…” Jeena didn’t dare to finish, and instead looked over to her partner. But Rallen said nothing. He didn’t even bother to look up from what he was doing.

“ _Rallen, what happened?_ ” Commander Grant demanded firmly, but once again, Rallen didn’t even look up. The look in his eyes was distant, as though he was only there physically, with his mind several light-years away.

Jeena bit her lip, realizing that her partner would not be in any condition to answer, so she spoke up for him. “With all due respect, sir, it’s been a rather exhausting day for us both. We’ll be back home soon and will speak to you about this matter later.”

Though Grant clearly wasn’t satisfied with that answer, the fact that Rallen wasn’t talking was evidence enough that something had gone wrong. After a moment longer, Grant finally nodded.

“ _Very well. I will see you when you do, then._ ”

And then the connection was cut once again.

Jeena looked at the controls for a moment longer, before speaking. “Rallen…?”

“I don’t want to talk right now, Jeen…”

The pink-haired girl frowned a bit angrily at Rallen at that. She could understand that he was shaken from the whole event, but this just wasn’t him. This wasn’t the Rallen she knew and loved. However, being angry at him right now would do more harm than good, she knew. So instead, she reached out, making sure to remove any trace of anger from her expression, and put her hand over his.

Rallen actually blinked and glanced over to their joint hands, before he finally looked over to Jeena.

“I know this must feel really painful, and… while I can’t say I know what you’re going through… I do know that bottling everything up is not going to help.” Those words, surprisingly, made Rallen tense, so Jeena continued. “You’re only going to make it worse for yourself in the long run, so… please, _talk_ to me, Rallen. That’s what friends are for… right?”

Rallen stayed silent for a few long moments, looking back ahead after a bit. Jeena waited for several long moments for a response, but when none came, she made to pull back her hand… only to stop when Rallen’s thumb slid out from under her fingers to rest on top of them instead.

“…thanks, Jeena…”

It was quiet, but it was enough. Jeena smiled and squeezed his hand a little in response.

“Anytime, Rallen…”

 

It was around mid-afternoon by the time that their cruiser docked at NPPHQ, and, in comparison to when they left, the place was bustling with activity.

Rallen gave a heavy sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. “…How’m I supposed to tell Liz?” he murmured softly to himself.

Jeena, for once, had no response to her friend’s question. While she didn’t know what kind of relation Rex and Liz had had when they had been partners, she knew very well that this could not end well in the slightest. This was going to end in tears, no matter what.

After taking a deep breath, Rallen got up wordlessly and headed out of the cockpit, Komainu hurrying after him. Jeena didn’t question him and silently began shutting down the cruiser for the time being.

 

As Rallen arrived at the room where they had left Rex, the young man looked to what was left of his brother and felt a sharp pang in his chest. His brother had not moved an inch since they had placed him in the pod, which was not something Rallen was used to seeing. Rex was known to twist and turn restlessly in his sleep for at least a good few hours before he was able to get comfortable, even in his own bed. Seeing him so still… it really didn’t sit well with Rallen.

Slowly, he moved over to the pod, and watched the body for a moment longer, before he kneeled down beside it.

“…Bro… we’re home…” he said softly, reaching out to lightly rest a hand on his brother’s shoulder.

Of course, there was no response, and, though Rallen had already known he would not receive an answer, he couldn’t help but feel nothing but sadness and something that came hauntingly close to despair. However, he quickly bit down those emotions, gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

“You’re… you’re still tired, huh?” he murmured slowly, though he didn’t expect an answer. “‘s Okay… just… just rest for now… we… we’re just gonna see Grant and… and Lizzy real quick, okay? So… you just wait here… kay?”

After a moment more of waiting, Rallen stood up and walked away again, resisting the urge to break down and cry again. His tears wouldn’t help, he knew…

Tears would not bring his brother back…

 

NPPHQ was, in one word, busy when the small group stepped out of the cruiser. The techs were running from one corner of the room to the next to either pick up tools, help their friend, or to move to one of the other cruisers that needed a checkup. The NPP officers themselves were not so busy and seemed to be taking it easy as they left their cruisers in the care of the techs, heading out of the hangar to get something to eat or to enjoy themselves in another fashion.

Rallen didn’t even take notice of it as they made their way to the exit, completely ignoring everyone who tried to strike up a conversation with him, leaving Jeena to apologize for his “rude” behavior. Of course, Jeena knew why her partner was acting the way he was, but she wasn’t about to just tell everyone there about it without Rallen’s permission.

And given how he was behaving, that would not be happening any time soon. She just hoped that her friend would be back to his old self soon.

 

The trip from the hangar to the Commanders’ office took them only a few minutes, though they did have to stop a few times to greet a few people, though Rallen, of course, said nothing.

Despite their small breaks, however, they made good time in getting to Grant’s office. Jeena was the one to knock on the door, which was answered by a slightly muffled “Enter,” from Grant.

Once they were in the room, Grant spent a few more moments studying the reports before him, before he turned to the small group.

“So… are you ready to talk about what happened, yet?” he asked sternly, though there was something that could’ve been dread in his eyes if either Jeena or Rallen had bothered to look.

However, Jeena had looked to the side and was rubbing her arm, whereas Rallen was staring down at the floor, his eyes empty and unseeing, still. Anyone looking at the pair could tell that what they were about to say was not going to be pretty, or pleasant.

It took a few moments, but Rallen finally managed to find his voice enough to be able to speak at least a little. “Yes sir… Commander Marks… requested us to travel to Ziba to… to pick up m…” At this point, he paused for a moment to swallow the lump in his throat and to take a deep breath. “To pick up my brother…”

When he said those words, Grant’s stern expression shifted into one of shock. “Your… brother? You mean Rex is…?!”

“…was alive… yes…” Rallen choked out, suppressing the churning in his stomach, with a lot of difficulty, and even then, it refused to go away entirely. “He was… outside of Nanairo for the past 12 years… and he… he came back just today…”

Jeena turned to face her partner, a small, sad frown on her face. Rallen’s face was now almost entirely blank, in a manner that was hauntingly similar to Liz’s when she wanted no one to know what she was thinking. Perhaps that was something that Rallen had picked up on during the time he had been living with the Commander in question, but either way, it was an expression that Jeena hoped she’d never have to see again on her partner’s face once this was over.

Grant also seemed to notice the unusual behavior of the NPP Officer, and his expression became actually concerned for once. “That isn’t the end of the news, is it?”

“…No sir… there was an… accident… that caused Rex’s ship to crash on Meido…” Rallen said, and, for a brief moment, both his carefully erected mask and his voice cracked. “He… he didn’t survive the crash…”

Silence befell Grant’s office for numerous long, tense seconds, in which neither spoke, nor moved. Rallen had aimed his gaze back down to the floor again once he had finished saying what had to be said, possibly to get his thoughts in order again and to prevent his mask from cracking any further than it already had.

‘I’m not gonna cry, dammit. I’m _not_ gonna cry!’ he thought to himself angrily, though nothing in his stance betrayed any of his inner turmoil.

‘ _Because boys don’t cry, eh?_ ’

Rallen wasn’t sure why his brother’s words suddenly echoed through his head, but he found a certain solace from hearing them.

“I… I see…” Grant finally managed to get out, but it took him some time longer before he was really able to speak to the pair normally. Well… as normal as he could, anyway. “This is… tragic news. I… am sorry for your loss, Rallen.”

Rallen only managed to shake his head quietly. He wasn’t expecting words of comfort, because, no matter what was said, it would not bring his brother back. And besides, he had a feeling that there weren’t any words in the entire star system that could possibly make him feel any better.

“I… I know that this must be difficult for you… but… were you able to… recover the body?” Grant asked slowly.

This time, it was Jeena who spoke up, as she had finally managed to locate her own voice. “Yes sir,” she confirmed with a small nod. “He… he’s still in the cruiser. We thought it would be better to inform you of the matter before moving him.”

“I see…” Grant murmured slowly, seemingly lost in thought for a moment, before he finally looked up. “Have you informed Commander Marks of this, yet?”

“…No sir…” Rallen managed to get out. “Not… not yet… We… were going to tell her after…”

Grant nodded slowly to show that he understood, before he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Alright… Then… I suppose it’s better if you go now. We will talk about what to do about… about your brother, later.”

‘He was about to say “body” again, huh?’ Rallen thought to himself, but he nodded nonetheless to show he understood.

“Alright then… you’re dismissed…”

 

The walk to Liz’s office was relatively short, but it seemed to take much longer than usual for some reason. Maybe it was because of the tension in the air around them, but whatever the reason, when they finally reached the door to her office, it was mid-afternoon

“…well… here goes…” Rallen murmured softly, and reached up to knock, though it took much more willpower than it had that morning. Still, he managed to knock, twice, and then stepped back to wait.

“…”

“…nothing,” Jeena said with a worried frown. “Do you think she’s out?”

“Maybe… I’m… not sure…” Rallen murmured.

‘ _She already knows…_ ’

When those words reverberated through his head, Rallen frowned a little and rubbed his temples, feeling a headache begin to build right there. ‘Urgh… she already knows… what?’

There was no response to his question, so he merely shook his head, reached out, and knocked again, three times.

This time, there was a solemn, almost emotionless call from beyond the door. “Door’s open.”

Jeena allowed a small frown, before she turned to her partner as he was about to open the door. “…You want me to go with you, Rall?” she asked, despite having a feeling she knew the answer already.

“N… no, that’s okay… I’ll be okay… thanks anyway, Jeena…”

Jeena nodded and stepped back to lean against the wall. “Okay, I’ll just wait here then.” Even as she said that, she couldn’t blame Rallen for wanting to go alone; Commander Marks was a woman with a lot of pride, and, more than likely, she would not be able to let go of her own restrictions if she wasn’t around those she trusted explicitly.

Not that she didn’t trust Jeena, but Rallen was almost like family to her, so she’d be more inclined to drop her guard around him. And in this case, maybe that was for the best.

Rallen took a deep breath before he opened the door and stepped in, the door closing behind him.

 

Rallen stood for a moment longer against the door, breathing deeply, mentally preparing himself for what would undoubtedly come, before he dared to step further into the office and to Liz’s desk, where the woman in question was sitting. She seemed to be completely engrossed in some reports on her PC, but her eye wasn’t moving, indicating that she was just staring blankly at the screen.

For a moment, Rallen just stood there, trying to work his voice, but finding that it had abandoned him. It took him at least a full minute before he was able to scrape it together again.

“…L… Liz…”

Said blonde blinked once, and then turned to face Rallen, finally. “…Yes?”

‘…sh-shit… how am I… how could… dammit! How do I say this?!’

“…um… well… y-you see, we… uh…”

‘ _Rallen… she already knows…_ ’

‘Guh…! Sh-shut up whoever you are! How the hell would she--’

“…he’s not coming back, is he?”

Rallen froze, and then he slowly raised his eyes to face Liz properly, but she had shut her eye and was holding her head with one hand. She seemed… almost _old_ like that. Liz had always looked barely any older than her mid-twenties, despite that she was already over 30, but now… she almost appeared twice he actual age with how she sat and the expression on her face.

“…H… how did… how did you…? I…” Rallen choked out.

Liz didn’t answer for a long moment, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. After a minute had passed, however, she stood up from her seat and walked around the desk until she stood in front of Rallen.

“…I don’t know…” she finally confessed, reaching out and placing a hand on his cheek. “I just do…”

Rallen blinked slowly, his mind needing several long moments to process what she had just said, but those minutes were enough for Liz to pull him into a hug, his head resting against her shoulder with one of her hands placed on the back of his head and the other placed on his back.

He blinked slowly, his mind unable to catch up so suddenly, but as the situation began to sink in, the emotions he had been bottling up since returning to Kollin burst and he broke down. He clung to Liz with both hands as he cried, unable to stop himself from crying out in a kind of agony that not even the Krawl could’ve hoped to inflict on him. His heart was hurting, like someone was trying to forcibly, and slowly, twist it loose from his chest. His tears flowed endlessly, and he felt a third river of the salty liquid dripping onto his hair, even if he did not hear its owner’s cries, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

It was just so unfair…

“I-I-I’m… I’m so sorry…!!” Rallen bawled out. “I’m so sorry! If-if we’d gotten there a little sooner… I’m so sorry…!!”

“…it wasn’t your fault, Rallen…” Liz whispered into his ear, moving slightly back to give him a small kiss to his temple; her way of trying to cheer him up if he was feeling down. “There’s just some things… you can’t stop…”

Rallen whimpered as he clenched his eyes shut and held tight to Liz. “It’s not fair…” he moaned out. “It’s not fair… what did he do wrong?! Goddammit why!? Why did… why him?! Why?! _Why?!_ ”

Liz had no response to Rallen’s endless litany of “why”. She had no answer to that question; she was asking the very same question as well, after all.

“It’s not fair… dammit this is… this isn’t fair…” Rallen choked out, even as Liz lightly rocked him, as though he were a child. And in a way, that’s how he felt right then. He just wanted to wake up from this nightmare and find out that none of this was real, but he knew he wouldn’t. This was reality, and there was no escape from it.

And so, for the second time that day, he cried, cried until his voice was gone and his eyes ran dry, clinging to Liz, who merely stood there, holding him close and silently offering him the support he so desperately needed. He felt like a child all over again, when he had lost his mother to some unknown disease, only it felt so much worse now. Losing someone in your family was never a pleasant feeling, and even less when you lose every single member of your family you ever knew. Rallen had only ever known his mother and his brother. His father had never been there, and his mother didn’t have any siblings.

He lost everything…

Everything…

‘ _…no._ ’

‘…?’

‘ _Rallen… you haven’t lost everything yet…_’

‘…huh?’

‘ _You still have others… there’s still others who love you… people who you love in turn, right?_ ’

‘But… but I…’

‘ _If you love them… from the bottom of your heart… never let them go. Do you understand? Never let go._ ’

Rallen blinked slowly, his sobs gradually lessening to where they were no more than occasional sniffles. Once he had calmed down, Liz pulled back carefully and looked at the young man before her. She didn’t speak; she only reached up and ruffled his hair. The gesture sent a pang of pain through Rallen’s heart, as he was immediately reminded of his brother, but as he looked up, he realized he wasn’t the only one.

“…dammit… why’d I go and do that…?” he choked out, stepping back and trying to rid himself of his own tears. “You… I was going to… I… dammit…”

“Rallen…” Liz said solemnly, placing one hand on his cheek and using her thumb to wipe away the tears still leaking from his eyes. “I know it’s hard… but we can’t let this weigh us down. Rex wouldn’t want to see us mope around until we waste away, too. We have to move on. Move on and cherish those whom we love.”

Rallen bit his lip to the point where he almost drew blood. However, he managed to nod slowly, knowing very well that Liz was right. Like Rallen, Rex would put the safety and feelings of others above his own, so, even with all that happened, Rex wouldn’t want to see them crying and clinging to the traces of ghosts.

Of course, that didn’t make it any easier, but what else could they do?

“…ah…” Rallen quickly reached into his pocket, where he had kept the small velvet box that held Rex’s present for Liz’s birthday of 12 years ago. “Um… Lizzy? This… I… I found this in… in his ship…” he said slowly, holding it out to her. “I… I think it was for you…”

Rallen didn’t miss the shock and surprise that passed over her face as she realized just what she was looking at, even if she tried her very best to hide it. She carefully reached out for the object, as though she feared it would disappear if she came too close, taking the object in her hands with only her fingertips.

She held it lightly, with her fingers smoothing out the velvet material of the box, before she, slowly, flipped it open with only her thumb nail.

Inside the box rested a silver ring with a light purple stone surrounded by smaller stones of deep ocean blue and pale yellow the color of sand set in an infinity symbol around the purple stone. The combination of colors reminded her of nightfall on Nessa, when the skies would turn purple after the sun’s departure and the sand and water seemed to glow with an ethereal light. A sight she had always adored more than anything in her childhood.

“…that idiot…” Liz mumbled softly, though her words seemed to hitch. “That stupid… idiot…”

Rallen already knew that there was no way that Liz could remain indifferent to this. There was no way there could be any misunderstanding about what Rex had intended to do with that ring.

And, as angry as she tried to make herself out to be, there was no way she could prevent her tears from falling. So Rallen stepped forward and pulled her into a hug, just as she started to sob quietly, her entire frame shaking subtly.

Rallen had never attempted to really comfort anyone before, so this was a first for him. Thankfully, he did remember how Rex or Liz would comfort him, so he utilized what he knew and rubbed his hands in circles along Liz’s back as he gently rocked her. Even though it felt weird to him to be the one comforting Liz, he ignored those feelings and focused only on being there for her, because she needed it right then.

As he blinked, though, he was startled when a tear slipped down his own cheek.

‘ _…I’m sorry…_ ’

‘…?’

‘ _…I’m so sorry…_ ’

It wasn’t until that moment that Rallen realized that the voice echoing through his head… was more familiar than he had first made it out to be.

‘…Rex?’

Rallen couldn’t say he was as startled as he should’ve been. Hell, he’d already met his brother’s ghost, after all, so what was a little possession, really? Though he had to wonder why Rex had not spoken up earlier or more.

‘ _…Rallen… could you… ask her for me…wh-what she would’ve said? I… I need to know… please…_ ’

The boy gave a small, unnoticeable nod, though he had to pause briefly to think. He couldn’t say _why_ he was asking, of course, nor could he ask _the_ question. So how…

As he was thinking, an idea suddenly came to him. One that he only needed a second to consider.

“…Hey, Liz?” he called out when she had managed to calm herself a little bit. “Does… does this mean I can call you ‘Sis’ now?”

Not surprisingly, this caused her to tense, though that was mostly in surprise, before she moved back slightly to look at him. Her expression was one that he couldn’t explain or decipher fully. Rallen could almost feel his brother’s anxiety, and it was just about to show on his face, but before it could, Liz smiled, _actually smiled_ , and then reached up to ruffle his hair.

“You little goof…” she mumbled softly. “Didn’t I already tell you that you could when I took you in?”

Rallen blinked once, twice, blinking a bit stupidly, before he spoke slowly: “You… you mean…?”

Rather than answer verbally, however, Liz merely reached into the box and looped her left ring finger through it. Even with her glove on, it was a perfect fit.

Rallen only stared for a long time as Liz lightly fisted her hand and placed it softly against her own chest, before he was able to smile, and he felt his brother’s relief flooding over him, and also his joy, mixed with sadness at not being able to be there for Liz. After he managed to swallow down his (and his brother’s) anxiety, he said: “Li… Sis… you–”

But before he could finish, the Commander lightly bopped Rallen to his head with her knuckles. It didn’t hurt, but it sure surprised him. “I’ll be fine, Rallen,” she said quietly. “You don’t have to worry about me. I always knew it was possible that he would never come back… I always knew.” She paused to place a hand on his cheek and wipe away the tears. “That’s just the kind of risks that come with this job.”

“But…”

Liz put her finger over his lips to silence him, and shook her head ‘no’. “Enough, Rallen. Now go. You have someone waiting for you, don’t you?”

Rallen wanted to say something, _anything_ … but he couldn’t…

He just didn’t know what to say…

“Don’t let it slip away, Rall,” Liz said suddenly, making him look up in surprise. “Don’t let your chances slip away… like they did for us.”

Upon hearing that, Rallen actually tensed in slight alarm, as his mind immediately caught on to what Liz meant, and what _could_ happen at any time. She and Rex had believed they’d have all the time in the world… and that assumption had cost them dearly.

“…I… I get it…” he said slowly with a nod, before he reached up and rapidly rubbed at his eyes to remove any traces of tears, and took a deep breath. Once he was sure he could keep himself under control, he hugged Liz one more time, which was wordlessly returned, whispered a final apology, and then headed for the door.

He knew exactly what he had to do now…

 

In the meantime, Jeena was leaning back against  the wall outside Liz’s office, and she was starting to worry just slightly. The rooms were soundproof, so anything being said in the room staid in the room. She knew that the pair had to have a lot to talk about, but did it really have to take so long?

Just as she was about to drop down to sit and wait, the door opened and Rallen stepped out, quietly closing the door behind him.

Immediately, Jeena pushed off from the wall and Komainu whined as he hopped over to Rallen for attention. “Hey… how did it go?”

“…Okay, I suppose…” Rallen murmured softly with a small sigh. “I’d rather… not talk about it just yet, though.”

“It’s okay, Rallen… I understand,” Jeena said kindly with a small smile. “C’mon, let’s go to the cafeteria. You must be starving by now, right?” It was _way_ past the time that Rallen usually ate lunch, and the NPP Officer was very punctual about his meals, even without looking at a clock.

As she made to walk off, though, Rallen quipped: “Actually… I was thinking of going out for lunch. You mind?”

That comment caused Jeena to whirl back around to face Rallen, confused at first, before she thought she understood. “Oh, right… to avoid the questions that’ll be coming, huh?”

“Not really…” Rallen admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “Just… um…” The young man paused for a moment to rub the back of his neck. “I know it’s probably a bad time to ask, but… Jeen, would you consider going out with me?”

Jeena almost, _almost_ , dropped her jaw at the sudden question, and she had to wonder what had brought on the sudden enquiry. But, upon noticing the look on Rallen’s face, she had a feeling she already knew.

So instead of questioning it, she smiled. “Sure, Rall. I’d love to.”

Rallen blinked in slight surprise at it going so easy, but that surely didn’t take long, and within half a minute he grinned. “Cool.”

Jeena only giggled, and walked down the hall, absently wondering where they would be eating for lunch. Because of that, when Rallen reached out and lightly grabbed her hand, she jumped in surprise. But when she realized what had happened, she allowed a small smile and linked her hand with Rallen’s. Said NPP officer offered her a small grin, as they started walking down the hall, with Komainu running after them, barking happily.

Some people who saw them going gave them a few strange look, but, honestly, neither of them could care less. It just wasn’t important…

It was much more important to cherish the moments you had left with those you loved… before it was too late…

 

As the trio left NPPHQ behind, they never noticed that their trek was followed quietly.

Liz watched them go quietly, their hands entwined together. As much as she wanted to remain indifferent, she couldn’t, not really. Because she was jealous of them, just slightly. Of course it didn’t show, but it wasn’t that difficult to figure out if you knew her well enough.

With a sigh, she slowly took her seat again, and leaned back with her eye shut, praying quietly for her consciousness to abandon her for a moment so she could rest. No one was going to know, anyway.

“ _…I’m so sorry…_ ”

Liz didn’t even give the quietly spoken words much thought, figuring them to be little more than a stray thought lingering in her mind, with a dash of wishful thinking.

“ _Lizzy… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…_ ”

Her consciousness had almost completely abandoned her by then, but even then she could not miss the soft touch against her lips, forcing her consciousness back, though her eyes remained closed, for now.

“ _Alliz… I love you…_ ”

“…!” Liz’s eye snapped open in surprise, but when she looked around, she was alone. “…what was that…?”

Of course, no answer came, and the Commander leaned back again, frowning. ‘I must be losing it… is that what happens when you lose someone dear?’ she wondered to herself.

As she closed her eyes again, though, she felt the soft touch to her cheek, like someone placing their hand on it. She kept her eyes shut this time, and simply waited, wondering if she was actually going crazy. The touch soon came to her opposite cheek as well, and her bangs were lightly pushed away. She felt nothing else just yet, but then there was another soft touch.

“ _Alliz… I’m so sorry… I love you…_ ”

She wanted to look, wanted to look so badly, but she feared it would vanish if she opened her eyes, just like last time, so she only brought up a hand to her cheek, trying to find the other person standing over her, but it was like there was nothing there at all. But she knew… there was only one person in NPP who knew her full name…

“…Rex…”

“ _…I love you, Alliz… I love you so much… I… I’ll miss you…_ ”

“…dolt…” she murmured quietly. “…I love you, too… and I’m going to miss kicking your sorry ass…”

Silence for a moment, and then there was a soft laugh.”

“ _…Lizzy… goodbye… I love you…_ ”

Gradually, the presence she had felt dissipated entirely and she slowly opened her eye again, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

“…you’ll never change, you dolt…” she mumbled. “…but that’s why I always loved you…”

Slowly, she shut her eye again and felt her consciousness finally fade away, and her last thought went to Rallen and Jeena, and, while she didn’t believe in any higher being, she prayed for them to find the happiness that she and Rex could no longer have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Liz's actual name is "Alliz Marks".


End file.
